The Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders has announced plans for a pan-European alliance with Marine Le Pen's Front National party in France ahead of the 2014 European elections. The alliance, which would include others from Italy, Sweden, and Belgium, would seek to disrupt the workings of the European parliament and destroy the EU from within its own institutions.

The development reflects a long-held desire by the far right in Europe to build its own brand of "Europeanism", a pan-European movement that is hostile to the integrationist aims of the EU. With Europe struggling economically and politically, the timing is significant and perhaps propitious for such a far-right alliance.

But is "fascism" back? The neo-fascist Golden Dawn party looks troubling in Greece, Norway went surprisingly rightward in its national elections, the Austrian Freedom party has also gained votes while in Britain, leaders of the English Defence League decided to embrace a more "mainstream" platform against Islam.

The apparent gains of populist and far-right movements have of course attracted the attention of journalists, experts and academics. And when this happens, there is a tendency towards sensationalist headlines which may give an exaggerated impression of the strength and power of far-right parties.

It is true that far-right movements have done relatively well electorally since the mid-1980s. Their gains are linked to multi-ethnic societies, European integration, rampant capitalism, globalisation the fall of communism, and more recently, by religious fundamentalism, economic upheaval and austerity. In such an economic, political and social context the existence of parties promoting the defence of national communities and citizens, rejecting almost all foreign interference in domestic life while electorally exploiting unemployment and financial instability, is almost guaranteed.

However, the far right is not on the rise everywhere, and with the same intensity. Specific national conditions, electoral systems and the role of the mainstream right need to be kept in mind. Yet while the idea of a fascist takeover may be fanciful, we should not totally downplay the risks.

Extremism should, for example, be closely monitored in Greece and in parts of central and eastern Europe. The far right is, in some ways, at the centre of Europe's life. Wilders and Le Pen establishing a new alliance in the European parliamentpresents an additional burden on the EU. Even fringe parties are already having an influence on attitudes and policy towards immigration, multiculturalism, citizenship, the public sector and the role of the state. The influence on other areas of public life, including football stadiums, is well known. In some countries, this has led to a legitimisation of an extremist discourse.

It seems that there is also a rather benevolent approach from some mainstream parties in Europe towards these developments, and a deafening silence from the entrepreneurial and financial world.

If the Wilders-Le Pen anti-EU alliance secures electoral success in 2014, it will partly be the result of how existing political elites are reacting, the continued drive to austerity and the perceived lack of democratic legitimacy that surrounds these harsh economic policies. We should be exploring the impact of all this on European societies and communities, and what can be done to use education to achieve a better, mutual understanding of different cultures. The European Union is, after all, not just about budgetary policies, trade and the free circulation of goods. It should be a beacon of enlightened values and tolerance.